Date: Mon, 29 Jan 96 17:52 EST
From: TIAlliance@intr.net (by way of Maggie Heineman )
Subject: The Interfaith Alliance in Oregon
For Immediate Release Contact: Jill Hanauer (202) 639-6370
January 24, 1996 Mary Carroll (503) 281-0597
The Oregon Interfaith Alliance's Distribution of Mainstream Voter Guides to
Counter Extreme Religious Right
Portland, OR - Over 70,000 voter guides were distributed by mail this week to
voters in Oregon. These voter guides were distributed by The Oregon
Interfaith Alliance and the national Interfaith Alliance. They were
designed to educate voters as to where both candidates for the U.S. Senate
seat vacated by Bob Packwood stood on a number of pressing issues.
"Unlike the Christian Coalition's voter guides, these guides are fair and
objective" stated Mary Carroll, state coordinator of the Oregon Interfaith
Alliance. Issues covered in these guide included medicaid and medicare cuts,
environmental regulation and minimum wage cuts and housing discrimination.
Earlier this month Oregon religious leaders announced the formation of a state
chapter of The Interfaith Alliance, an organization that provides people of
faith with a mainstream alternative to the divisiveness and intolerance of the
extreme religious right such as the Christian Coalition. Reverend Rodney Page,
Executive Director of Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon stated, "We pledge to
promote the positive role of religion as a healing and constructive force in
public life, and to challenge those who manipulate religion for partisan
political gain."
Mainstream religious leaders from across the country organized The Interfaith
Alliance in 1994 to speak out against the divisive use of religion in the
public sphere, including political campaigns. TIA goal is to ensure that an
alternative faith-based voice is heard in the public debate. The national
grassroots movement now encompasses 16 state chapters and over 20,000 members.
Rabbi Emanuel Rose the Senior Rabbi at Temple Beth Israel in Portland,
emphasized the need for a reasonable and civil faith-based alternative to the
prevalent influence of the extreme religious right in Oregon. He asserted
these groups are "guilty of fostering divisiveness and bigotry, in addition
to pursuing partisan political agendas, under the guise of religious
certainties."
Reverend Cecil Prescod, minister at the Highland United Church of Christ in
Portland, declared, "The need for fair and honest voter guides should be
obvious to anyone who has seen the so-called 'voter guides' distributed by
extremist groups like the Oregon Family Council and Pat Robertson's
Christian Coalition."
Proclaiming the need for a mainstream faith-based response to groups like
the Oregon Citizens Alliance, the Oregon Family Council and the Oregon
Christian Coalition, Rev. Page asserted, "in the name of God and 'family
values', these extremist organizations preach not the gospel of love and
healing, but rather a destructive message of division, discord, and even
outright hatred. To achieve their political goals, they unhesitantly
engage in character assassination, distortion of facts, deliberate
misrepresentation of the beliefs and values of their political opponents."
He proceeded to issue a challenge to Oregonians, declaring, "When such
deceptive and divisive activities are carried out in the name of God and
religion, people of faith can no longer remain silent."
(The speakers' statements can be downloaded from the WWW at
htttp://www.intr.net/tialliance/ oregon.htm)
# # #
Jon Paone
The Interfaith Alliance
1511 K Street, NW
Suite 738
Washington, D.C. 20005
tialliance@intr.net
http://www.intr.net/tialliance